Dell Studio XPS 13 reviewed, loved, and respected
By Laura June 
posted May 6th 2009 12:53PM
posted May 6th 2009 12:53PM
There's been much talk of Dell's leather-bound Studio XPS 13 ever since it made its first appearance... and now the fine folks over at Hot Hardware have put it through the motions for you, and we can tell you that they really liked what they found. Really really. In terms of overall build, they were very impressed, specifically with the chunky hinges and that decorative leather strip (the one which we found to be rippled in our own hands-on). They also claim that the Studio XPS 13 might have the "best keyboard" they've "ever touched" on an ultraportable, and they similarly loved the trackpad's clickiness (although we found the trackpad cramped and awkwardly placed). Performance-wise, they consider themselves blown away by the laptop, though they noted a few hiccups here and there (while tabbing around Firefox), and said that they felt the Studio XPS 13 outperforms others in its class. Hit the read link for the full on, glowing review -- one more shot after the break.
How did you get one for $700? I'd like to pick one up at that price.
I am a partial mac fanboy, but this does look pretty nice for a Dell. Dell seems to have pulled off an Asus like laptop with form and function. I still think for PC's, Asus makes the best laptops. Kudos to Dell for stepping up...
I have no complaints for Dell. Sure, they have made some mistakes in the past just like every other computer company. My Inspiron 9100 that I owned 5 years ago had a P4 3.2G processor that never overheated (provided I cleaned the fans out every 6 months).
from the hot hardware review site:
"8x Slim DVD±RW Slot Load Drive with 1080p DVD Upconversion"
really? I didn't know they have hardware scalers in dvd drives now. Is that a mistake or are there other drives out there (laptop or desktop) that have that ability?
@poached.
This is news to me, but would be very cool if it was true. I think the scaling is actually done by the Nvidia GPU's though...
fuck this laptop
it NEVER recognizes it's own charger and the battery dies
i've put 3 on display at best buy
I've always wonder why Best Buy employees aren't considered knowledgeable in computer matters.
I'm over the glossy screen fad; I don't like it but bitching to any further extent is unnecessary. But I tell you what gloss DOES piss me off and would forever keep me from buying this notebook. The case. NO NO NO!
Plain and simple, these notebooks absolutely should not come with a glossy case that absolutely will get scratched, scraped, scuffed, and fingerprinted. They are not a guy arrested after a bar fight, and thusly these sequence of events don't need to happen to a laptop. A metal or matte finish case would not eliminate this; of course not, but it would help tremendously. I have the same gripes at cell phones. If I'm going to invest $1100 or more for this laptop, it should not be a chore to keep in good shape. The leather will be torn, and the case will look like shit under even the most gentle handler. I would rather take the Studio, XPS1330 or Inspiron matte case notebooks in a HEARTBEAT and spec them up to the level the Studio XPS. No reason for this Dell, none.
If only it was a white rectangle and had an apple logo you could have agreed with the review.
it's a good laptop, but it gets hot and has low battery life. I was expecting better battery life with the P series CPU and hybrid SLI.
I heard this laptop runs really hot on the bottom. Which indicates poor battery life and not good for portability. I'm still waiting for a true ion netbook. I know it will be cooler
A laptop costing that amount has trouble with FIREFOX? Is this a very late April Fools joke?